Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters portrayed in this fic.
A/N: Hello readers! Some personal time and lots of fluff in this chapter. Also, something is REVEALED, heehee. Please pay attention to the time intervals at the beginning of the sections so that you don't feel confused about the sequence of events. Also, if the chapter may seem shorter, please note that this is Part (i) of Chapter 11, with Part (ii) and (iii) being posted in quick succession. The timeline of this story follows the time-skip, after Naruto develops the Rasen-shuriken technique, but after that deviates from canon. Reviews and feedback appreciated!
PART 2: Flight
Chapter 11: Hunting Grounds, Part (i)
Day 8 since Team Kakashi's departure from Konoha (12:00)
It was around midday when they paused their punishing pace, his fingers clenched tightly in the heavy material of his sensei's flak jacket, Gamakichi's leaps and bounds carrying them further and further along their intended path. Kakashi lay prone across the toad's broad back before him, the wind of their passage sending whiffs of blood, sweat and metal backwards from his tattered, discoloured clothes and hair. Clenching his teeth, Naruto scanned the trees behind them, then the forest floor.
That should have been time enough for him to get some info and disperse.
Summoning a small amount of chakra, he bit a finger and slammed his palm down, black seals erupting from the contact with the wart-ridden orange skin. A small toad saluted him smartly once the smoke had sufficiently cleared. It was Kosuke, the messenger toad Jiraiya had left with Tsunade. Naruto had summoned him earlier, quite by chance, gaining some valuable information on the Hokage's actions and the retrieval team sent out after them. He had promptly sent the toad out to spy on the ANBU pursuing them.
"Reporting, boss. There were two back-up ANBU squads. Five members each. Three ANBU remained behind to seal away the corpses and tend injuries, while the others remained in pursuit. Their orders are as follows: to capture you, boss, and kill Kakashi-san, while preserving his sharingan. They will wait to execute these orders until you reach the mountain pass. With the greater number of shinobi available there, they hope to subdue you in case you call on the bijuu's chakra."
Naruto nodded tersely. "Yeah, makes sense. Thanks, Kosuke."
He received a respectful nod. "Boss." A puff of smoke later and his diminutive spy had dispersed. Beneath him, Gamakichi's head shifted. "What now?"
"We'll stop at the next clearing. Kakashi-sensei's wounds . . . kinda look bad."
"Yeah, but - "
"And almost total chakra exhaustion too, looks like. Except this time, Tsunade baa-chan is not here to bail his stupid, lazy ass out."
"Oi, Naruto, are you - "
"You heard Kosuke" The young shinobi allowed himself a grim smile. "They won't attack before the pass, thanks to the stunts we pulled back there. I can't do much about the chakra exhaustion, but I've got the medi-kit from Sakura-chan. Oh, and Hinata gave me some of that cool ointment thing she makes. It should take care of the pain, too."
The toad sighed. "Whatever. But I'm not dispersing just yet, in case you need a quick get-away."
Naruto grinned. "Thanks a bunch, Gamakichi!"
They landed heavily, a number of flying insects whirring away from the long, damp grass around them. It was already much cooler with the increase in altitude and the trees were thinning out, giving way to rocky ground and jagged slopes. Placing his sensei carefully on a makeshift bed of their combined cloaks, Naruto stripped off his jacket and spread it over the unconscious man.
"Get some rest, Gamakichi. I'll send out some clones to keep watch."
The toad rotated his considerable bulk away from his summoner, orange lids closing slowly over the large, slit pupils. Naruto hastily formed six bunshin and set them off in different directions with firm instructions not to stray too far. Dropping to his haunches, he rummaged around in their packs, selecting a number of items and placing them out in ordered array before him, pausing now and then with closed eyes, nodding in thought and removing another article. When he had everything he needed, he rinsed his hands briefly in the lukewarm water from the large canteen and pulled back the jacket on Kakashi, carefully unzipping the jounin vest and raising his sensei's inner clothes with a sense of déjà vu. He dampened a cotton swab from the medi-kit, with a little sterilizing ointment smeared over the tip and, as gently as possible, cleaned the more serious wounds first. None of the cuts or abrasions were large, but some were deep and had bled out considerably enough to cause concern. Kakashi's mail shirt and flak jacket had localized the bleeding such that the clotting was effective, but infection was the real risk. The cleaning was followed by an application of Hinata's 'miracle' ointment and clean bandages carefully wrapped around Kakashi's torso and leg. Squatting back on his heels, the young shinobi wiped off his forehead with his forearm, inspecting his work.
Not bad. But Sakura-chan would've done a whole lot better. Shaking away these gloomy thoughts, he ate a few ration bars before standing and summoning three clones. Brandishing the key scroll from the bunker and the coded leaflet he had retrieved from Kakashi's pouch, he explained their task.
"Ok, guys. We've gotta de-code this thing. This here is the key, which will tell us how to crack the code. This here is the message we're gonna crack. Any questions?"
Seeing the deadpan expressions on some of the bunshin, he cleared his throat and hastily opened the message out. "Right, there's three lines in this message. To speed things up, I'll give each of you a line and a copy of the key. How's that?"
"Yeah!"
"Ok!"
"Let's do it, boss!"
Naruto scrambled around in his pack before retrieving some rather crumpled, stained paper that had been used as the outer wrapping of his supper the night before Igarashi's kidnapping. Tearing it in half, he copied the key onto each and handed it to the clones along with the original. "Here you go. Get cracking!"
The key was a simple, if effective one. A random figure or symbol had been assigned to each of the letters forming the coded message. Furthermore, it was triple-layered, with at least three deciphering stages required before the final message was ready. Fortunately, the bunker had been considered secure enough to store keys to all three layers of coding. Without the first two, all the effort he and Kakashi had expended on getting hold of this information would have been rendered obsolete. Seeing that his clones were properly occupied with their assigned tasks, Naruto turned his attention to Kakashi. Striding over to him, he ripped the wrapper off another ration bar before breaking it into quarters.
"Sensei. Hey, sensei."
Kakashi's head lolled from the gentle shake and Naruto tried once more. This time, a pained groan sounded and the older man's eye fluttered open. His gaze wandered for a while before settling on the worried face of his student. "N - Naru . . . "
"It's all right, sensei. I wrapped you up good. Here." He offered a piece of the ration bar. "You'd better eat this and get your strength up."
Kakashi looked blearily down at his student's hand, then back up at him, ignoring the food. "Naruto . . . I . . . I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Now really concerned, the young shinobi leaned forward. "What are you talking about? You can't eat? Come on, sensei. I won't look at your face, I promise. Just - "
"No!" Kakashi was breathing heavily, the space between his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "I'm sorry . . . for everything."
Having said this, his head fell back against the folded jacket, single eye closed once again. Naruto shuffled forward, still determined, and carefully, but firmly slid his arm beneath Kakashi's shoulders, raising him once again. He turned slightly so that only the top of his sensei's mass of dirt-streaked silver hair lay within his vision. Reaching up, he took a breath, then hooked a finger beneath the cloth mask and pulled it down until it rested in folds around Kakashi's neck. The small piece of ration bar was pressed against the barely conscious man's lips and Naruto held it there, insistently, until, with great relief, he felt a tug on his fingers as a small, hesitant bite was taken. The rest of the ration bar was eaten, slowly, but surely in this fashion, Kakashi pausing now and then to gather his strength.
Dusting his fingers off, Naruto was about to pull the mask back into place, when a pressure on his wrist stopped him. He waited silently, glancing down at the gloved hand that gripped his sleeve, the worried frown he had worn earlier re-forming on his brow. Kakashi was attempting to speak again. "Naru . . . to."
"I'm here, sensei."
"It was . . . too hard. Too hard to see him . . . you . . . everyday. I'm a . . . c - coward. I - I failed . . . you."
"Sensei, stop." Despite having no idea what Kakashi was talking about, something about the manner in which the older man was speaking made the hairs stand up on his arms and neck. It was as if each word was drawn out, agonized, more deeply felt and sincere than anything he had ever heard in that calm, lackadaisical voice. "Whatever you have to say, it can wait til' you're all better."
Naruto suddenly straightened, swearing softly and pressing a hand to the other's exposed neck. His sensei was burning up, the skin scorching under his fingers. "Shit!" Slipping his arm from under Kakashi, he grabbed the back-pack and brought out the medi-kit once more, fingers scrabbling over the lid on the pill box before opening it out, shaking a few beige-colored capsules into his palm. He raised his sensei up, higher this time, finally and reluctantly lifting his eyes to Kakashi's face, holding his breath, eyes widening despite the situation. Behind him, the three clones had stopped in the de-coding process and were staring, open-mouthed and unashamed.
"Wow!"
"Incredible!"
"It's . . . it's sensei's face! No way!"
"Shut up and get back to work!"
Exhaling deeply, he turned back to Kakashi. Truthfully, he didn't know what he had been expecting. Certainly not the fish lips and buck-teeth that they had envisioned in childish fantasies as Team seven of old. Kakashi, their sensei, his sensei, looked . . . young. Young and haggard. He had even, fine features, a straight, almost aristocratic nose and a strong, narrow jaw-line, what he supposed many women would consider handsome. There was a shadow of stubble on his cheeks and a crust of blood around the corners of his mouth. The scar over his sharingan eye extended into his cheek, the edges jagged and lighter in colour against the already pale skin. Wordlessly, Naruto placed the two fever pills between the cracked lips, pausing to brush some of the dark, residual dried blood away. He held the canteen up, nudging softly with the mouthpiece. Kakashi took a few gulps, relapsed against his arm and was silent for a few minutes, breathing so evenly and deeply that he seemed to be asleep. Then his hand lifted, stretching backwards, groping until it encountered his student's head and rested there. "N-Never . . . liked . . . Sasuke more. C- Coward. You look . . . just like . . . sensei. O-Obito. I'm y - your . . . sensei. Die for you . . . for Sakura."
Naruto was trembling beneath the warm hand on his head, something heavy and hard settling in his throat. "Sensei, I know. Just . . . just stop. You'll be fine, you'll see, Tsunade baa-chan will patch you up. And then we'll go . . . we'll go for ramen! Like always, sensei."
"F-Forgive . . . me."
And the young shinobi almost gave his loud laugh, his quick, brash reassurance, but something prevented him. Something to do with that damned obstruction in his throat that made him feel twelve years old all over again. "Kakashi-sensei. We're not just a team. We're family. I don't know much about family myself. Never had a real one. But I know now, because of you. Because of Sakura-chan. And even Sasuke-teme. And Hokage-jiji and Tsunade baa-chan. And Ero-sennin." He grasped the hand that had tightened imperceptibly in his hair while he spoke and brought it gently down. "And when you're family, you don't have to say sorry. Not really. 'Cause we just know you are, see?"
Day 8 since Team Kakashi's departure from Konoha (16:00)
They had made good time through Waterfall Country, jackets and cloaks making a quick appearance as the cooler climate of the heavily wooded, damp and river-ridden land settled around them. For some portions of the journey they'd had to drop to the forest floor, the moss and lichen, growing in luminous yellow-green patchwork on trunks and branches, making tree-hopping far too perilous and slippery. Jiraiya had kept an excellent pace, holding them at their limit with quick breaks between for light meals. Despite the strenuous nature of their run, no soldier pills had been broken out yet. There had been little to no conversation, save when they stopped to re-orient themselves and took watch breaks at night. Each wrapped in their own thoughts, focused on the goal ahead, Sakura found that she could have not asked for better accompaniment. There was no distraction from her determination to regain her teammates, for Hinata, Shino, Kiba and above all, Jiraiya, were as keen as Kakashi's hounds on a fresh scent. For their precious people, their comrades.
Sometime in the afternoon, Jiraiya called a sudden halt. He motioned Hinata forward.
"Byakugan!" Veins erupted in fine tracework around her pale eyes as she sprang ahead and stopped further on. "Th-This is as far as we'll get for now without concealment, Jiraiya-sama."
"What's up there?"
"A stretch of trees, f-for a hundred metres, a short drop, more ground, f-forming a plateau and then a steeper cliff. There's a river, then a stretch of open ground. A path leads off . . . into the overpass. There are s-some buildings, outposts I think, because some shinobi are manning it. I can't tell you numbers at this distance."
Jiraiya nodded. "Sounds about right from what I know of this area. Anything we can use as cover?"
"Yes. There's an overhang. It r-runs all the way along the bottom of the ravine. I-If we travel beneath it for a while, there's an opening in the cliff face. It would be good cover."
"Great. Let's get moving. From this point on, only hand signals permitted. Once we get to the cave I'll make sure nobody can hear us, by a handy little trick I happen to know. Then we'll discuss the extraction. Everyone, out!"
Blurring into swift, silent motion, they passed from the cover of the trees into afternoon sunlight. Sakura formed a quick set of hand signs as they ran. "Genjutsu: Body Refraction."
Automatically, her companions drew closer, enabling her to maneuver a tightly controlled net of illusory chakra over their moving forms. From a distance, their group would be all but invisible, the thin sheet of chakra diverting reflection of the sun's rays. Jiraiya kept formation at front, while Hinata, Kiba and Shino took defensive positions around her, aware that her concentration would be largely taken up by maintaining the jutsu while moving. They made the plateau, Hinata's byakugan activating once more as the distant ninja fortification came into sight. The ravine was within sight now, and they ran vertically down the cliff, not pausing or breaking stride until safely under the overhang. Kiba and Akamaru went ahead, the large dog just before his master, as their keen noses sniffed out any possible ambush. He gave a signal and they followed quickly, slipping within the confines of the dark, cool niche. Sakura took a breath and released the genjutsu.
Jiraiya nodded as they all settled in a circle and Hinata handed out ration bars in easy routine. Munching quietly, they watched as the toad Sannin performed a small whispered jutsu and the air at the entrance of the alcove shimmered slightly. He let out a whoof of breath and knelt, biting his thumb and summoning a small toad. "Jiraiya-sama. Reporting from the Hokage." The diminutive animal snapped into a smart salute.
"What news, Kosuke? "
"Naruto and Kakashi-san are now being treated as a class five inflitration. The orders are to capture Naruto and eliminate Kakashi-san, while preserving his sharingan eye."
"What?" Sakura was on her feet, face pale and furious.
Jiraiya gestured her to pipe down, although his mouth had settled into characteristic downturned worry. "What else?"
"The ambassador for Iwa has brought to Hokage-sama's attention that the Council of Iwagakure will not look on this lightly and will not accept the evidence given of their abduction. The extraction cannot be conducted within Earth Country borders, as we will not be given the entry rights to do so. They are currently being pursued as S-rank criminals by squads of ANBU."
"Naruto-kun . . . " Hinata looked slightly ill, Kiba was scowling heavily and Shino glanced outside the cave, seeming preoccupied. Sakura's fists were bunched at her sides.
"Take it easy, you guys." Jiraiya stood, hands on hips. "This is a test of fortitude and we will not endanger Naruto and Kakashi by rash action and - "
"But that's not all!"
Jiraiya looked down, slightly confused at the small toad that had not dispersed. "Huh?"
"I bring a message from Naruto."
A small shriek of surprise escaped Sakura and suddenly, Kosuke found himself surrounded by four faces radiating a fiery aura. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO FIRST?!"
"Ah," the toad lips stretched sheepishly, "For dramatic effect?"
"You little - " Kiba was about to snatch at him, when Jiraiya stopped him.
"That's enough. I was waiting on Naruto to think of this. One of the few advantages of having a multiple user summoning contract. Set all toads on alert for a summon from him. What's the situation, Kosuke?"
"He and Kakashi-san are almost within the pass. They managed to gain access to a copy of the coded message sent to Iwagakure, the one responsible for framing them." The toad opened his mouth and a small scroll case shot out, wrapped in the warty, pink flesh of his tongue. Jiraiya snatched it away, ripping it open.
"And those two? Their status?"
"Naruto is uninjured. Kakashi is heavily wounded, sustaining injuries to torso and leg, suffering from chakra exhaustion and high fever." Sakura moaned slightly, running a hand through her hair.
A short message was inscribed on a coding leaflet from the scroll case, along with the decoded message in Naruto's large handwriting and the code key on a separate page. Jiraiya read through it once silently, then aloud. "Red alert for two Konoha infiltrators within borders in two days. Sharingan Kakashi and jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto. Send word to Shigure once neutralized."
"Shigure?" Shino enquired.
Jiraiya looked thoughtful. "It's a code name of course. Only, one I've heard before. My intelligence network identifies a member of the Iwa council, one Tetsumo Tanaka, as Shigure. He's nothing but a third-rate bribe-taker. He's tolerated, of course, because he also happens to be a shrewd businessman and brings in quite a bit of revenue. He's popped up on my radar many times, since he's now expanded his business interests into trading intelligence. The shitty brat has no idea what he's doing most of the time, thinks he's a regular spymaster. He's taking a much bigger risk on this one, though. It's make or break for him. The Iwa council and Tshuchikage have obviously sanctioned this, but unofficially. If they manage to get hold of Naruto and Kakashi, he'll be upped on the power and influence scale quite a bit. If not," he shrugged, "he'll be relegated to cash ledgers for some time to come."
"B-But who gave him the intel?" Hinata had taken the message and was reading Naruto's postscript, with the rest reading over her shoulder, Sakura with a small, almost pained smile.
"Someone from Konoha." Jiraiya sounded grim. "Someone with credibility and influence, presumably, since Tanaka's gambled his entire career on the accuracy of the information."
Kiba snarled. "So we have a spy in Konoha?"
"Not necessarily. Remember, the fuuinjutsu targeted Kakashi, but Naruto was subsequently added in. It could be any number of conspirators, and one of them has an obvious grudge against Naruto. Three guesses why."
Sakura raised a clenched fist and her companions backed away when they sensed the condensed chakra around it. "And when I find them, getting rid of my team mates will be the least of their worries."
Jiraiya sighed. "Put that away. We need to think this through carefully. Kosuke, what's the time frame we're looking at?"
"Naruto and Kakashi entered the pass thirty minutes ago. He had Gamakichi out to take them there faster. He summoned me to take the message and then dispersed us both before he entered the pass."
Nodding, the toad sage's eyes narrowed. "They'll have to make use of all the stealth they possess, and even then, they'll probably be detected. All passages in and out of Iwa have at least one sensory shinobi present. We'll have to maintain a close position and be ready when they make a break for it."
"Are we engaging the Iwa nin?" Sakura looked surprised.
Jiraiya grinned. "Sure we are. This ravine is one of the markers of Iwa's borders. The moment they set foot over it, we're well within our rights to defend our position and the fugitives. I happen to have very good relations with Waterfall's ruling shinobi clan."
He received encouraged and, in Kiba's case, gleeful nods from the young shinobi around him. Sakura took the message from Hinata and ran a finger over the slightly smudged, charred wood letters littering the bottom of the page.
'ERO-SENNIN! You better give this message to Baa-chan.
This Shigure bastard SCREWED US OVER. Kakashi-sensei is not doing good. He's talking funny. Tell Sakura-chan to be ready with meds and stuff.
SAKURA-CHAN, I saw sensei's FACE! Haahaa. Lucky! Don't worry, I'll protect sensei.'
This was followed by a small smiling toad sketch. Feeling the determination seep into her from this concrete reassurance, she handed the slip of paper back to Jiraiya and breathed in deeply. Jiraiya had already inscribed a message of his own onto a scroll and handed it over to Kosuke along with Naruto's decoded efforts.
"Get this to Tsunade, fast as you can."
"Yes, boss!"
Watching the leaping figure of the small toad slip lightly beneath the water of the river below, Jiraiya turned to Shino. "All done?"
Dark glasses were pushed up the bridge of the Aburame's nose with something that looked suspiciously like smugness. "Of course, Jiraiya-sama."
The Sannin's grin now looked positively feral. "Team Retrieval, time to take off the kid gloves."
A/N: Yes, I actually tried very hard to keep Kakashi's face concealed, but it just wasn't working out. Naruto had to remove it in order to take care of him. Tried to make it as realistic as possible though, considering the basic outline we see of his face through the mask. And no, although it sounds as if he's giving a death-bed confession, he isn't. He's just delirious from fever and Naruto's just shaken because he's never heard his sensei speak this way before. Next up: Chapter 11, Hunting Grounds, part (ii), where the pursuit heats up. Updated because of a change in time intervals!
